Reborn
by HolyRiot11
Summary: My version. Alternate ending. One OC. Read and see.
1. Friends in the Lowest of Places

Reborn Chapter 1 **A/N: An story from where the anime left off. MegxJo, naturally. Alternate ending, one OC, may be out of character but I don't give a shit. In reality starts from where Jo shot that brain thingy.**

Shit was about to blow up. Jo could feel it. "D'jango, defend Sei, quick!" yelled the gunslinger, instructing the mech. "Jo, what about you?" called Sei. "I'll be fine," said Jo, attempting to find shelter behind a machine. "My job is done." The brain exploded, sending debris, fire, and _heavy-ass objects_ toward them. Jo's shelter backfired as she was slammed between it and a wall, the machine breaking. It flew away as the blast grew stronger, and she was overcome with pain. Her scarf flew off, and she saw it fluttering in the wind. She couldn't feel her legs. She couldn't find her guns. She couldn't even _fucking see_. She was in pain, and that was all she knew. In what she though to be her last moments, she though of Meg.

She'd left the red-head on the coast, wanting to keep her safe. She briefly wondered if she would ever be able to keep Meg safe again, and prayed to god that she didn't do anything stupid. Then she remembered that she didn't believe in god, so she merely hoped. Hoped that she would get out of this. Hoped she could see Meg again. Hoped Meg wasn't hurt. And hoped that Meg would be happy.

As she was lost in this train of thought, she felt something grab her, pulling her away from the explosion (when had it ended?). She looked into two bright yellow lights before she passed out. But not before she heard the voice. It was smooth and quiet, hypnotic in a way. But it had a had a demonic-sounding echo, that made her stiffen. It said: "It's okay, child. You'll be okay."

Jo awoke on something cold and hard. She opened her ruby eyes, trying to see, but it was dark. She tried getting up, but something pushed her down. Suddenly, a warm yellow light filled the room. She was lying on a metal table, covered in bandages. The walls were covered in machines and tubes, and she looked at the source of the light. It was a woman. She had short brown hair and gray skin. She, too, was bandaged. She had several scars all over her body. Her torso and most of her legs were covered in bandages, though she wore simple clothes over them. A black shirt and black shorts. But her eyes were shocking.

They weren't eyes at all, really. Just two empty eye-sockets with a yellow light coming out of them. The light was eerily familiar, but Jo didn't care. The woman smiled, the light shining brighter. Upon closer inspection, Jo saw that the woman had some of the tubes sticking out of her back, and the skin was torn off of one of her arms and both her legs, revealing metal.

"Hello, Jo." It was the same voice from before. "You shouldn't be moving unless you're sure you can. Got it?"

"I think I can," snapped Jo. "Now, why am I here?"

"Because I pulled you out of the wreckage. And don't get me wrong, I know you started it. All I have to say is that it's about fucking time someone did it."

Jo's head snapped up at this statement. "Was anyone else there? A woman with black hair, perhaps?"

"No, just a mech. Didn't look too badly damaged. Yours?"

"Yeah." Jo tested her injuries, relieved that she could move. "I can leave now."

"Good to know," commented the woman. "Goodbye, Jo. We may meet again."

Unsure what to say to that, Jo got up. Her whole torso was bandaged, and her legs and right arm felt stiff. The pain in her chest and... well, everywhere else burned, but she could ignore it. She still had her chaps, and the woman handed her her guns.

"I found these," she explained. "They were broken, so I repaired them. They're _better_ than new now, so rest assured." Jo took the two guns, slipping them into her holster. She walked up the stairs that led to the door, pushing it open. She looked down, seeing a busted lock resting by it with several chains. The woman's home had been underground, it appeared. And locked up, right under RAPT headquarters.

As she looked around the wreckage, she saw a familiar head of red hair. She ran, surprised at how easy it was. Meg was looking up at Jo's scarf, tears in her eyes. Jo ran up behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong Meg?" she asked in a soft voice. Meg turned around, shocked. Jo smiled, putting her hand on Meg's head. Meg hugged her, crying into her bandages. After hesitating briefly, Jo wrapped her arms around Meg's waist, whispering comforting words in her ear.

Meg looked at her with wide, blue eyes. "Are you okay, Jo?"

"Yeah."

"Who helped you?"

"It was..." Jo realized she didn't know the woman's name. "Some lady with some robotic parts. She looked like she was hurt herself, but I didn't ask questions. I remember that she pulled me out of the explosion when it was over, but I never learned her name."

"Well, whoever she was, it's likely she saved your life," said Meg, letting go of Jo. "I'm forever grateful to her for that."

"I guess she did save my life, huh..."

"Let's go back to the trailer," suggested Meg, taking off her jacket. "But first, take this. It's yours, after all." Jo slipped on the jacket, looking over to see her scarf.

"Just a second," she said, ignoring Meg's protests as she ran up to the ruins, jumping up. She'd planned to grab onto a ledge, but somehow ended up on right next to the scarf. She grabbed it, wrapping it around her neck.

"Woah," yelled Meg from the ground. "I didn't know you could jump that far, Jo!"

"Me neither," muttered Jo to herself. She jumped back down, landing perfectly. "Let's go."

As they walked into the trailer, everyone stopped. When I say everyone, I mean everyone. Leo stopped his hand where he'd been about to put food in his mouth, Amy stopped typing, Kyohei stopped cutting vegetables, Takane (she was visiting) stopped talking to Leo, Sei froze (simple as that), Meg looked at Jo and Jo looked at everyone. **(A/N) If you're not lost, let's continue. (End A/N)**

"What is everyone staring at?" asked Jo, acting as though she hadn't been gone. With that, Takane walked up, smirking. "Looks like Tokyo can survive some pretty big things, huh?" she patted Jo an the back. Leo laughed, and Kyohei smiled, waving at the silver-haired girl. Amy grinned wildly, welcoming her. Sei stood there, frozen in shock. "Jo," she ran up to the other girl, the disbelieving expression stuck on her face. "Impossible." "I thought you were originally looking for someone who could make the impossible possible, Sei. Thought you'd been mistaken." Sei shook her head. "Never. But Jo," she looked down, at Jo's legs, at her right arm. "Your arm and legs were blown off your body, I saw it before I knocked out."

**A/N: And so ends the first chapter. So... yeah...**


	2. Back as a Cyborg

Reborn

Chapter 2

**A/N: Wow, three reviews already. Well, one of them is exactly the same as the other (repeated), but at least it's not a flame. If there _was_ a flamer... I would tell them to shut the fuck up. Anyways, thanks to my two reviewers, I appreciate the comments.**

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><p><em>Sei peered through a gap between D'jango's massive metal fingers, searching for the gunslinger who had, in a way, just saved her life. Jo was crushed between a wall and a burning machine, though she only stayed in this position briefly. The wall collapsed, and the machine fell on top of Jo. Ruby eyes widened in pain, mouth open in a silent scream of agony. Jo stretched out her left arm, trying to pull herself out from under the heavy, burning metal. The machine sent out an electric current, shocking Jo before it was taken away by the force of the explosion, ripping off Jo's right arm and legs. <em>

_ The explosion stopped, and Sei tried getting out from under D'jango. It proved to be quite difficult, seeing as D'jango was stuck there. Jo was lying on the ground, panting and bloody. Her now-missing body parts were nowhere in sight. Her scarf flew in the wind, getting caught on part of the wreckage. The gap between D'jangos fingers closed, leaving her in the darkness until Leo and Takane got her out._

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><p>"Don't fuck with me," said Jo. Her voice was calm, leveled and deadly. But Sei could hear the fear in it, behind it all. "If that happened, then what the fuck are these?" She gestured to her arm and legs. "They're here, and they're functional. I can move. I can walk." Jo was shaking now, barely containing her fear and shock.<br>"Jo," Meg got closer, touching Jo's forehead. "You're pale."

It was true. Jo's normally tanned skin was not a sickly pale, and there were dark bags under her eyes. She looked tired. Very tired. Sei saw a hint of blood showing through her bandages. But Jo was focused on her right arm, eyes wide.

"Jo, we have to replace those bandages, and you have to rest," commanded Sei.

Jo seemed to not be thinking as she followed them. Meg carefully peeled off the grayish white gauze, gasping when she saw the large cuts underneath. Sei got out a needle and thread, stitching her deepest cuts. Meg then re-bandaged them, wrapping the gauze securely around Jo's wounds. Once this was done, the red-eyed girl fell asleep, leaving the two other woman to clean up the bloody gauze.

"She was hurt really bad," said Meg. "But it's weird. She looked like she lost a lot of blood. I think you're right, and that really happened but... I wonder what the person who helped her did."

"We'll ask her when she wakes up," assured Sei. "I feel guilty, though. She got hurt by helping me, and I didn't stop her."

"If it was anyone else, they would be dead." Meg looked at the sleeping mercenary. "She's so strong. I've always admired her for that."

"She is strong," agreed Sei. "The stronger the opponents she faces are, the stronger she gets. It's... terrifying, really. I'm just glad she's on our side."

"Terrifying?" asked Meg, confused. "Jo's not terrifying."

"Her strength is unmatchable by anyone. She is genetically altered to be that way. But I think it's her determination that makes her strong. If she has a job, she'll always finish it. No matter how impossible it is. But if that power is there, straight in your face... if it's turned against you... I think the person has a fair chance of being scared to death."

"But... Jo's a nice person, really. She can be mean at times, sure, but it's only for the good of others." Meg looked towards Jo's peaceful sleeping face.

"Like how she K.O.'d you to keep you safe?"

They looked to see Takane standing in the door way. She was focused on Jo. "How is she?"

"She's alright, just sleeping," assured Meg.

"Good." Takane seemed relieved. "Y'know, when I first met her, I couldn't stand her. She pulled a joke on me, using her name and calling my mom fat. She made these smart-ass comments, and it may not bugged me so much normally. It was just the way she said it. She had an air to her like she didn't care about anything. She dished out insults with a type of nonchalance that made me want to slash her across the face. I tried, and she blocked it with a spoon. I was all angry, but she just had that same expression on her face. So I pushed my sword harder, and she kept the spoon there, not even flinching."

"Jo can be like that sometimes," admitted Meg. "But it's her charm, I guess. I met her back in America, when she recently lost her memory."

"How was she back then?" Takane was curious now.

"She hasn't changed, besides the fact that she's even stronger now than she was then. She had long hair... but it was cut off while she was fighting. Any closer and her head would probably be off."

"So Tokyo's always been fighting, huh..."

"Well... yeah. I don't think she's ever gone a month without it."

"What do you mean?"

Meg stopped talking, so Sei took it upon herself to explain everything to Takane. "Jo is a genetically altered, artificially born human. She was raised as a soldier, along with many others to be a genocide angel for Zero. She was raised fighting, so it's probably the most familiar thing to her."

Takane's expression was blank. "No wonder. When I met her, the first thing I noticed was that she wasn't normal- OW!" Meg had hit her on the head for that, and was glaring at her. "I don't mean it in a bad way! She just didn't seem to care about other things!" Meg looked down at this, seeing as she'd practically said that to Jo herself.

Suddenly, Jo shot up, hissing in pain. She was clutching her right arm, teeth grit in pain.

"Jo, what's wrong?" asked Meg, turning to the bed. She touched Jo's arm, but quickly pulled away. It had- had it just shocked her? "Jo, what's happening to your arm?"

"I think only one person really knows, and they're not here," snapped Jo. She was referring to the woman who'd helped her. "We have to go. I need answers. Let's go back to the ruins."

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><p><strong>AN: Well, that's done. Sorry the chapters are so short, but frankly I'm lazy. Hey, at least I'm writing a story. Usually I would've given up by now. **


	3. Meet Your Savior

Reborn

Chapter 1

**A/N: Weird. I can't will myself to write anything but this. Hm. Thanks to my readers, though. I just spent... two hours... trying to learn Japanese. Someone tell me somewhere to go for that, please. **

**Enjoy!**

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><p>They walked into the ruins again, Jo leading the way. In a way, she did look like she had before she'd gone to the headquarters. She had her scarf wrapped around her neck. She had the same red jacket, the same dark tank-top (Sei had gotten her new clothes, of course. Gauze may cover the important bits, but it's not clothing). The same chaps in that same revealing outfit. Her boots were the same. Her hands, having slapped Meg in the face just two weeks ago <strong>(AN I don't know how long it took Meg to get back there, but I'm making it two weeks and I don't give a fuck what you say) **had the same gloves. Her eyes were still red. Her silver hair still fell on the right side of her face. But something had changed, and Meg new it.

Maybe it was how she looked so pale, or the bags under her eyes. She seemed to be slouching, just a bit. As if she were carrying a burden. When she looked at Meg, she almost seemed apologetic. Meg thought she might've known why. Knocking her out, abandoning her... But nevertheless, Jo was different. She seemed... tired. More so than she'd ever been. Considering how drowsy she usually was, that was impressive.

Jo, in some ways, was almost child-like. She didn't understand many things that most people would know. That, of course, was due to the recently-learned fact that she was made/raised to be a soldier, and was only taught to speak, fight and take orders. But Jo was a fast learner, and Jo could be very determined. But... frightening? Why had Sei said that?

They came to a stop as Jo knelt on the floor, grabbing a handle that stuck out of the ground. As soon as she did, the hatch was pushed open from the inside and a figure jumped out, tackling Jo and putting a knife to her neck. The figure had a long black coat on, the hood up. A yellow light glowed from their eyes, washing over the gunslinger's face. Out of some sort of instinct, Jo punched the figure with her right arm, straight in the face.

_Clank!_

Wait... what?

I'm sorry, but that's the wrong sound. Isn't it? Why would someone punching someone else in the face make a metal-on-metal sound? The figure stopped, pulling back the knife and standing up. She held out a hand, helping Jo up. Jo was looking at her hand in shock. The figure then turned to Sei, Meg and Leo.

Meg gasped. The figure was a woman, yes, but she was injured, or at least seemed like it. Her face was scared, with dried blood dirtying half of it. On the side of her face where Jo had punched her, bits of gray skin had torn off, revealing the metal underneath. She pulled back her hood, revealing short brown hair. Haunting yellow light shone out of empty eye-sockets. Her jacket was slightly opened, showing that she had more bandages on than clothing. Her black shirt was tattered, barely kept together and unbuttoned. Her short's had been shredded to the point where they resembled underwear. Gauze covered her shoulders, entire right arm, torso, and her legs up until her knees. The gauze was bloodied, though, and everywhere that wasn't her face or covered in the blood-stained white material was made of metal. Her face, however, only had one scar.

"Hello," said that voice. The same haunting voice that Jo had heard as she was pulled from the wreckage. "You two must be friend's of Jo's." She raised a gloved metal hand, waving. Jo continued to stare at her hand, looking slightly more composed.

"Who are you?" asked Sei. "I wasn't told that anyone from RAPT survived."

"From RAPT? Are you joking? They called me C-1, but I prefer Cy. I pulled Jo out of the explosion when it was over. She seems to be," she looked at Jo, "adjusting to her knew body parts, huh?"

"What did you do to Jo?" yelled Meg.

"I saved her," snapped Cy, raising an eyebrow. "She'd been burned, beaten and her whole body was bloodied. Her arm and legs are gone. I made very good replacements though. The only difference between those replacements and the real deal is that the replacements are more durable and stronger. One of her eyes was gouged out by a random piece of flying metal, but it was replaced as well. The scar, I'm afraid, is still there."

"What?" Meg ran up to Jo, pushing the hair away from her right eye. There was a scar, yes. A pretty deep one that went from her eyebrow down to her jawline. How had they not noticed? Her eye was silver, with faint hints of red. "Jo... what happened to you?"

Jo glanced at her hand.

Some of the skin had peeled off her knuckles, showing the metal beneath. Meg took her hand and examined it, not truly believing what she saw. Sei walked up, first seeing Jo's new eye and then briefly looking at her hand. Leo's eyes were wide as he stared in wonder between the two partly robotic women (maybe all robotic in Cy's case, but he didn't know if that was the case.

"I'm... even less of a normal human being, huh?"

Ah, that line again. She'd said that during what Meg had almost thought to be their last conversation. Jo had seemed so much older there, stressed and tired as she seemed. Looking back at it, Meg thought that she herself looked almost childish, begging to go with and begging her not to go. Jo had a reasonable view, but Meg was just... crying and begging. In the heat of the moment, that's all she found she could do.

"You're normal," said Meg.

"You just don't look the part," added Jo.

The ghost of a smile lingered on Jo's lips before she returned to that tired, stressed face. Well, it was understandable. She had just discovered that she'd been made part robot. She looked to Cy, who was making her way back to her home. She gently pulled her hand away from Meg, grabbing onto Cy's shoulder.

"Just what can these things do, anyways?"

Cy smiled, turning to her. "Your guns or your body?"

"Both."

"You can manipulate the electricity in your arm and legs and send it through your body. You can run really fast and jump really far. Those parts are bulletproof, so don't worry about getting shot there. You can see things from even farther away, and that eye's like a camera. Should help you shoot, too. Your aim should be spot on now. You have super strength, though being a Genocide angel you have that at times. You are unstoppable. As for your guns, there's a couple of things. First of all, there's a switch on it. Turn that on and all your shots explode on impact. No need to worry about reloading, that thing fires lasers now. Damn nasty kickback, but you should be able to handle it. There's a small button on the handle that makes a knife shoot out of the bottom. If you hold the button you can use it as a knife for close combat."

Jo looked at Meg. "Normal, huh?"

"... as a person, you're normal," objected Meg.

"...Sure, Meg. Whatever you say."

"Wait, I forgot one thing. Twist your hand in any direction as far as it'll go," said Cy.

Jo did, and... her hand spun around in a complete circle.

"So now she's got, what, like... twenty joints?" asked Leo.

Cy shrugged. Jo looked at her, realization sparking in her eyes. Suddenly she grabbed Cy, pushing her against the wall. Cy looked at her with a calm expression, no pain sparking in her- okay, bad choice of words. No pain showing on her face. She raised a hand and grabbed Jo's neck, throwing the surprised mercenary to the ground. Jo tried getting up, but Cy placed a booted foot on her chest, holding her down. The yellow glowed everywhere, it seemed.

"Sorry, kid. I don't take attacks too well," said Cy.

"You're... a robot... the kind with the yellow brains... I recognize the light..." murmured Jo. "What did you do to me? Put a bomb in my chest?"

"I'm not trying to kill you," stated Cy. Jo looked at her foot pointedly. "Sorry." She let Jo go, standing off to the side. "Instinct. Anyways, I hate RAPT. Yellow-brain or not, I was normal at one point. They replaced my insides with robot parts, except for the brain. I wouldn't work for them, though, and they tried torturing me. I was tricked into taking the medication. I thought it would cure my sickness."

"What sickness?" asked Sei.

"I dunno, it's hazy. Anyways, I gotta get back to my place. You guys should go back to yours."

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><p>Back in the trailer, Jo rediscovered horror movies. She sat on the roof with a content expression on her face as she watched blood splatter on-screen. As she did, she observed her right arm, moving her fingers around. She found a rock, picking it up. She pressed on it and it shattered easily. At that moment, Meg came out.<p>

"Hey, Jo," she called from below. "Get down here! Sei wants to talk to everyone!"

Jo turned off the portable TV, grabbing it in one arm as she jumped down, easily landing in front of Meg. She followed the red-head inside, seeing Leo and Amy already there. She takes a seat at at the table, leaning back.

"Now that everyone's here," begins Sei. "I've been thinking..."

"About what?" asks Amy, forever fidgeting in her seat.

"I want to get the group back together," she announces.

"I'm all for it," says Amy, the first to agree. Leo nods, accepting the offer. They both look at Meg and Jo, waiting for an answer.

"What kind of jobs will we be doing?" asks Jo.

"Catching criminals. Wiping out any aggressive RAPT supporters. That kind of stuff," answers Sei, looking into Jo's oddly colored eyes. Her robotic eye is strangely intimidating. It has no pupil, only a slightly darker spot that you normally wouldn't be able to see.

"I'm in," she says, nodding her head as she leans back, half-burying her face in her scarf as she relaxes. Meg looks at her, then to Sei, and then back.

"More fighting?" she yells. "Really? Dammit, Jo! When will you stop? You were blown up two weeks ago! How could you possibly want to fight more?"

"Well, I favor the cause. RAPT is evil, criminals are pathetic. I would like to get rid of either of them, if I can get something out of it. Meg, the money we have isn't going to last forever. Besides, you know I can never stay out of a fight for too long."

"But why?" asks Meg, genuinely curious. "Why can't you just live in peace? You deserve it, Jo. If anyone deserves peace, it's you."

"Meg, my instincts are to fight. I was made to fight. It's familiar, and I know it's weird but I feel safest doing it. I'm sure of myself. I know what I'm doing. Nothing is unfamiliar. I'm supposed to know it," she explains. "I can't live in peace because it's unfamiliar, I don't know what to do. I don't know how to..."

The last part was so low that only Meg could hear it, and Jo was looking down, away from them. She then looked back at the redhead, determination in her eyes. "I'm joining the group, Meg." She said it like she didn't care if Meg came or not, but there was hope in her eyes.

"Fine." Meg sighed. "I'm in, too."

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><p>Meg and Jo walked to the room they shared, and as they walked in Meg felt to strong arms wrap around her. She felt herself be pulled towards the other girl, gently but firmly. She looked up at Jo, shocked at the sudden affection. Jo was never one to show her emotions, or talk very much. Meg, being pressed against Jo as she was, could only see the her silver hair. She realized she'd subconsciously returned the hug, but didn't mind.<p>

Jo smelled of gunpowder, metal, hot sauce (Meg chuckled inwardly at this) and... fire. No, not fire. Something like it though, but not in a bad way. Like... a type of incense. It was a strong, pleasant, warm smell. Jo herself was warm, and though she may have had a fever Meg was happy. Unbelievably happy.

"Meg," Jo's warm breath washed over her face. It smelled of spice and the same fiery type of thing as before. It was comforting, she realized. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to protect you..."

"What are you talking about, Jo?"

"I'm sorry I slapped you."

"Is that what all of this is about?"

"No," Jo said, slightly tightening her grip. "I'm sorry you can't live in piece. But I don't understand why you care so much... why you've never ran away from me."

"What do you mean?"

**(A/N: PLEASE READ THIS LITTLE BIT! I'm using stuff from the manga in this story, so don't worry. The Cyborg thing was my idea. The manga was based before they were all in a group)**

"I'm a monster, Meg. No, wait. A living weapon. More so now than ever before. Weapons are meant to be used until not useful anymore, like my old guns. The ones that were old, cracked and had part of the barrel sliced off. They were thrown out, remember? You've had a lot of chances to just leave me somewhere. Like when Sam adopted your friends. Or when you met me. Just now... why do you care so much?"

"Because," said Meg, already knowing the answer. Yes, she loved Jo. But it was best she keep that to herself for now, she decided. "You're my friend, Jo."

"Thanks, Meg." Jo let go of her, slowly stepping back. She looked tired, like she would sleep at any second, but Meg saw the happiness in her eyes. Jo had been smiling. She really wished she could have seen that. It was rare.

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><p>Meg lay in the bed, hearing the faint breathing of the figure beside her change in pattern. Jo was dead asleep now, and she knew it. Meg edged closer to the sleeping gunslinger, close enough that she could smell her again. That smell was comforting. She lifted a hand to brush away the hair from Jo's scar, then placed a light kiss on it. Jo shifted, embracing Meg once again. In her sleep. Meg smiled, breathing in Jo's scent. She could get used to this.<p>

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><p><strong>AN: ...Finally.**


	4. Hot Sauce Restock

Reborn

Chapter 4

Jo's oddly colored eyes opened, taking in the room. Meg was asleep beside her, her back to her but pressed against her. She got up, carefully so not to disturb the sleeping girl. As she walked out, Sei raised her eyebrows.

"I thought you would sleep until dinner. You looked tired."

"I never sleep well," said Jo, pulling out some leftover scrambled eggs and coating them in hot sauce. "You know that."

"Even when you're seriously injured and tired?"

"Like I said," she swallowed a forkful of now-red eggs. "You know me."

Amy came out, groaning and stamping a foot (in a very childish way, but hey, she _is_a child…) when she saw Jo. "Damn! I thought I would beat you today for sure!"

"Give it up, Amy," said Jo bluntly. "You can't beat an insomniac."

"You used your physical pain to your advantage! No fair!" yells Amy.

Jo raises an eyebrow, about to reply when Meg comes out. Meg heads to the fridge as Jo finishes up, throwing out the empty bottle of hot sauce. Sei sighs.

"I'm not buying the hot sauce today…"

"We're out?" asks Jo, eyebrows knitting together in confusion. They buy many bottles at a time, thanks to Jo's eating habits. Jo used the last bottle on her eggs.

"It's okay, Jo," says Meg, grabbing her arm. "I could go with you."

"Okay then," she begins walking to the room, taking her shirt off. "Better get ready then."

Meg's gaze follows the girl until she disappears from view, and then she slowly follows. When she gets there, Jo is already strapping on her chaps, connecting the holsters. She sees Meg and smiles slightly, for a moment. Meg is frozen by how nice she looks when she smiles. Her eyes narrow slightly, an almost mischievous glint to them that only Jo can master. She already has her jacket on, and is about to zip it up, giving Meg a clear view of the muscles rippling just below the skin of her stomach.

Then the moment is over as Jo walks out of the room, smile fading. Meg dresses slowly, and Jo's head is resting against the wall when she gets out, her eyes closed. Meg gently shakes her and her eyes open, seeming mildly confused before seeing it was Meg. She takes Meg's arm. "Let's go."

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><p>They walk down the streets, Jo's usual lifeless, uncaring expression setting on her face. Meg wishes she would smile again, but doesn't voice her desires. As they walk into the store, they hear a commotion.<p>

"Bitch! Who exploded the HQ? Tell me! I know that you know!" yells a man, throwing a punch. Meg looks to see that the said "bitch" is Cy, who grabs the mans fist mid-lunge, face blank and "eyes" covered by sunglasses. There's a cracking sound as the man yells in pain, and Cy replies.

"I don't have to give answers to a useless puppet of that pitiful organization. Now leave me alone. I have places to go." She notices Jo. "Hey, I'm too busy for this. Mind giving me a hand?"

Jo walks over. "Do you belong to RAPT?"

The man scoffs. "I work for them. I'm not their possession."

"To them, it's basically the same thing." She points a gun to his head, and a breeze rolls in, moving the hair away from her right eye once more. The man's eyes widen.

"Y-you're part cyborg!" He takes in her appearance, giving her a once-over. "You're the angel from hell the group's targeting! You bitch!"

He lunges at her, and she dodges, stepping behind him and smashing her right fist against the back of his head. He's knocked out instantly, falling to the ground. Jo grabs a pack of various things of hot-sauce, walking up to the shocked cashier, looking him in the eye, and saying:

"How much?"

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><p>They walk back with the (free) hot-sauce and the RAPT guy. Jo's sustaining the weight of his body with one arm, carrying the bottles of red in the other. As they walk in the trailer, Sei's eyes widen.<p>

"Jo?"

"Yeah?"

"Who's your, er... friend?"

"Not my friend," she throws the man to the ground as if to prove the point. "A RAPT follower."

"Then why the hell did you bring him here?"

"He said a group was looking for me, back in the store. I saw Cy there, too. He was talking to her at first, until she broke his fist. He'd been asking about me."

"Well then take off any weapons or forms of communication from him," commands Sei. "We don't need them tracking us here."

Jo began searching the man from where she was standing, prodding him with her foot. She seemed to be focused on something.

"Jo, why don't you get down and search a bit more accurately?" asked Meg, who was on her knees next to the man and taking things out of his pockets. She sighed. "Nevermind, I got it all."

"No." Jo shook her head, crouching down and taking out a knife, cutting part of the man's shirt. She took out something that looked to be a bomb. "I was testing out my eye and saw a shape coming out of his shirt a little."

Meg looked to see that the barely noticeable dark gray spot on her silver eye now covered half of it, though it quickly changed to normal. Jo handed the object to Amy to look at, then grabbed freezing water, pouring it on the mans face. As the man woke up, he was thrown against a chair and tied to it. The air around Jo seemed to grow unnaturally cold as she walked up to the man, eyes devoid of emotion. The man visibly shrank in fear, but kept a determined look in his eye.

"Your bomb is gone," said Jo, pointing to his chest. The man looked down, surprised. "What a cowardly way to kill- a suicide bomber. There's nothing brave about blowing yourself up. Now tell me," she grabbed his neck, squeezing it slightly as a warning. "What 'group' is looking for me?"

"The new RAPT," he chokes. "And they will never lose to the likes of you, even if we don't have the old research! We have new tactics, and we will not fail!"

"Where are they?"

The man spat, aiming for Jo's face. Jo dodged, bringing Meg out of it's way as well. She looked back at the man, then punched him hard in the side. A cracking sounded throughout the room, and Meg saw that the silver on Jo's knuckles was more evident know. The man screamed, falling over in his chair and landing on his injured side. He felt pressure on his head, feeling the heel of Jo's boot.

"They're in the ocean..." he gasped. "But you... idiots... will never... find them!"

With that, his head exploded under Jo's boot, which she'd slammed down on him in anger. She dragged his body outside, throwing it in a dumpster before coming back and quickly cleaning the blood. As she wiped it down, Meg sat on the floor next to her. When Jo was rinsing the rag, she saw bits of the man's blood on the red-head's face. She lifted up the damp, now clean towel, gently rubbing Meg's face as her sapphire orbs met her mutli-colored ones. With that done, they went to Amy's, arms pressing against eachother as they walked down the narrow hallways.

Jo was wiping her bloody hands as she walked through the door, the sight being very intimidating. She looked at Amy, telling her the news. "Could you find any mysterious parts, where you think it might be?"

"I think I might already have it," said Amy, showing them the monitor. "See? I can zoom in a little more."

"No, I see it," said Jo, standing back. "It looks big. Where is it?"

"That's the problem. It's in the Bermuda triangle."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Done! REVIEW! :D**


	5. Joining the Cause

Reborn

Chapter 5

Jo stared at the young hacker, confused.

"Amy, I'm stupid. Explain it to me so I can understand."

Amy sighed, pulling out a map. She marked part of the ocean with a red triangle, pointing at it with her finger. "This is the Bermuda triangle. It's said that anything that passes here disappears instantly, never to be seen again. Apparently not. I think that this organization either kills them or takes them prisoner."

"So how do we get there?" asked Jo. "How can we manage to avoid that?"

"Let's follow one of their members," suggested the young girl. "That way, you can avoid certain death. We just need to track one down..."

"Okay," Jo rose from her seat. "I'll check in later."

Meg followed Jo out of Amy's room, and she found herself out of the trailer. Jo was standing there, hand on her forehead. She lied down on the grass, on her back, arms folded behind her head. Her eyelids drooped, growing heavy as she dozed off. Meg slowly walked towards her, not wanting to wake the silver-haired girl up. She sat next to the sleeping form of Jo, stroking her short hair and smiling softly. The cold anger that had rested upon Jo's face since they met the man was gone now, and she seemed almost peaceful. The only reason she didn't look completely at peace was that her hands, though she rested on them, still seemed to be twitching towards her guns, itching to fight something.

"So, I heard you were looking for a member of their group."

Meg jumped, turning angrily to see who's ruined the moment. There stood Cy, taking her sunglasses off. Her brown hair was thrown back, as if she'd been running incredibly fast to get there. She probably had. She took out a bottle of something, drinking some before looking back at Meg.

"Are you going to answer my question or am I going to just stand here like an idiot?"

"Keep it down-"

"Who's here, Meg?"

Both Cy and Meg looked to see that Jo had woken up, rubbing her eyes and looking at the red-head. She then saw Cy and nodded in acknowledgment. She stood, dusting herself off before looking at Cy again.

"Why are they looking for me?"

"They were an extended branch at RAPT, and they know you blew up their base. They're bent on revenge. They knew I was there, and before you came along they were aiming to capture me for further experimentation. They thought they could 'succeed' where the rest of RAPT had 'failed'."

"Failed?"

"I wouldn't listen to them, so they locked me up underground."

"I see," said Jo, looking down slightly. "This will be a big fight, then."

"Yes," agreed Cy. "And I'm coming to fight too."

"Well, I guess help is welcome... But Sei's in charge, if we go."

"I'll wait, then. I got an hour and a half before I have to leave..."

"Leave where?"

"Home," replied the gray-skinned girl, taking another gulp from her bottle. "By the way, Jo, it seems you've been moving a little too much."

Jo looked down to see most of her wounds had reopened. "Shit," she said, gritting her teeth as she poked at the bandages.

"Let's go inside and re-bandage those, Jo." Meg pulled Jo along by her robotic arm, then looked to Cy. "You can come in, too, to talk to Sei."

Cy followed, and Sei raised her eyebrows when she saw the woman. "Hello," she greeted the cyborg. "What brings you here?"

"I want to kill people."

"Uh..."

"The RAPT people, relax," assures the other woman, finishing off her bottle and chucking it in the trash with enough force for it break. Thankfully, the trash can was tough. The bottle, not so much.

"Oh, that group Amy told me about, right?"

"I have more information on the matter." Cy smiles, revealing unnaturally sharp, longer-than-average teeth. She begins speaking with Sei, who listens carefully.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Jo is re-bandaged once more. Meg leans back against the headboard of the bed, exhausted. Jo's asleep again, and the blue-eyed girl smiles at seeing the calm expression on her face. Jo looked... kind of adorable as she slept, mouth slightly open with her hair (somehow always, without fail) a bit messy. Jo's eyes open again, and she sees Meg. Meg sees Jo smile, a very small, tiny smile. Nevertheless, she loves it.<p>

Sei chooses to be the second person to ruin a moment, knocking on the door. Jo gets up, opening it. Sei raises a hand in silent greeting before saying that they're meeting in the living room. The two girls head over, seeing Amy and Leo already there, looking at some sketches.

"In a couple of weeks, we will head to the Bermuda triangle. Cy has given me a lot of useful information, along with a few example sketches. Really, her memory is amazing. She will be joining us in the expedition. She's a lot smarter than she lets on," comments the dark-haired leader.

"Cy drew these?" asks Jo, holding up one of the sketches. It's a great sketch. The picture shows how the base looks, every detail shown.

"Yes."

"Impressive."

"...Yes."

* * *

><p>Jo wakes up, shooting out of the bed. She takes a few more deep breaths, then lays back down. Her eyes droop. She yawns. She's tired.<p>

But she can't sleep.

The genocide angel slowly stands, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She looks at Meg, then at the mirror. She's clad in her large black shirt, hair messy. Her left arm and torso are still bandaged. She observes the metal on her knuckles. She looks at her scar, and at her bionic eye. She then heads to the bathroom, rinsing her face. She's awake, more or less. She already forgot her nightmare.

She walks out of the trailer, putting her jacket on for warmth and taking the portable TV with her. When she's finally on the roof, she turns it on. She watches whatever horror movie is in there, a content look on her face as she sits in the dark. As light slowly leaks through the curtain of darkness, she turns it off, going back inside for breakfast.

It's kind of the norm with her.

Sei greets her, and Amy is out shortly. Meg, the deepest sleeper, won't be out for another hour or so. Jo thinks as she eats the food. She doesn't even actually acknowledge what it is, except that it counts as breakfast food and she's covered it with hot sauce. But still, she's thinking.

She knows a lot about her companions, she notes. Not by talking. But observation is one of her strong points. Sei sees Amy as almost a daughter, and she's fine with some flirting with Leo from time to time... or more. She cares for her group and is calculating, always trying to find the best outcome, always trying to figure things out. Dutiful, except for the whole, you know... RAPT thing...

Amy was hyperactive, proud, smart and remarkably good when it came to teasing people. Though that may be because her and Meg had been targeting eachother since they'd met. She seemed to see Meg and Jo as sisters, Sei being more of a mother figure. She was a child at heart, though. She could act her own age, sometimes.

And then Meg. Meg was... innocent, in a way. The only bad things she did she did because she either felt or was obligated to do it. She talked bad with Amy, but she cared about her. She's even proven to be a bit protective when she'd been crying, trying to pry info out of Kyohei along with Jo herself. She cared about all of them. Even Jo.

But why, Jo didn't know. Why should she care about her?

* * *

><p>Takane watched as the woman downed another shot, unflinching. Her purple eyes grew wide. How much could this woman drink?<p>

"So," said the woman, attempting to make conversation with the shocked brunette. "I get the feeling you know Jo."

"What? How do you know her."

"I saved her," answered the woman. "I pulled her out, gave her a new arm, leg and eye."

"What the- Sei was right?"

"Yup. And she'll be fighting again in two weeks. You wanna come? I'm going."

"Sure, but what's your name and where in the hell are you hiding that alcohol?"

"I'm Cy, and truth is..." she traced the rim of the glass with her metal finger, smirking. "I'm not hiding it. I'm already drunk."

**A/N: Yeah, Cy's an alcoholic. But hey, what're you gonna do? I thought it would be interesting if she knew Takane. Thanks to reviewers, like _xXSilverFireHawkXx_ and so on... yeah... awkward...**


	6. A Nice Happy Vacation to the Warzone

Reborn

Chapter 6

**A/N: Woah... 6 Chapters already? This is going **_**a lot**_** faster than my other stories. Oh, and **xXSilverFireHawkXx**, ****It's not that you missed two chapters at once, it's that I **_**put**_** two chapters at once. So don't feel bad. XD**

**On with the story! (yay!)**

* * *

><p>"Meg, we have to start getting ready. Get up."<p>

Meg felt someone grabbing her shoulders, shaking her lightly. She opened her eyes to see Jo there, already slipping on her gloves. Meg sleepily sits up, seeing that it's already 11. They're going to the Bermuda triangle today, she realizes.

Jo looks almost excited to go, and that's impressive in itself. But then again, this is fighting. Jo's always liked fighting. Jo tells her to get ready again before walking out of the room, off to do god-knows-what.

Meg puts on her usual clothes, getting her anti-tank rifle from the armory. As she walks out into the living room, she sees Sei talking with Leo and Amy talking to Takane. Rather than wearing her usual outfit, Sei is in a much less revealing outfit. It's all black, skin tight and seems to be bullet proof. **(A/N: She wore this when she recruited Amy, so watch episode 21 for reference.)** Leo's wearing a bullet-proof vest over his usual clothes, carrying two machine guns. Takane's in her usual attire, but her bike is shining and her sword is sharper than ever. Amy hasn't changed out of her usual outfit, but she's got a huge machine next to her.

Meg knows what it's all for. She even gets her own bullet-proof vest. Takane will be riding through the base, slashing people or running them over. Sei and Leo will be fighting off foot shoulders along with Meg. The machine Amy has is truly amazing. Leo and Cy built it for her. It can go underwater, hover, and be camouflaged. Inside of it is comfortable, with a high-powered computer that can handle anything Amy does to it. It also has machine guns built into it, just in case. That last part was Sei's request. Jo will be going for the boss, the center of the problem. Along with Cy for directions. Without Meg.

As you may have guessed, Meg hates that. But Sei's logic was flawless.

Personally, Meg thought it was all a bit much. But Cy knew about that base. It was RAPT's last resort, the strongest and largest part of their organization. Where the Genocide angels were to be sent to, but we all know that that wasn't going to happen.

Jo and Cy weren't in the living room, Meg noted, but she knew they were outside. She walked out, seeing Jo and Cy training again. Jo grabbed Cy's arm mid-punch, sending out an electric current. Cy smirked; she was learning well. Thought it would have shocked any other person, Cy merely smiled at her and flipped her over and behind her. Jo landed on her feet, and put a hand on the back of Cy's head. Cy nodded.

"I've taught you well," comments the older girl. "You're ready for this."

Both Cy and Jo have geared up, or changed. Cy's eyes are actually _eyes_ now, except they still look weird. Both of her eyes are completely black, the yellow light now more focused into two pinpricks that resemble pupils. Her bandages are all off, showing her metal parts. In reality, her skin is all metal, she tells them. Her insides, however, are human. Well... except for legs. Her human organs are all infused with robotic parts, though, giving her exceptional strength. On her back, where the tubes that she connects herself to most of the time usually are, is thick plate of black metal. In reality, it's pretty much the tubes in one, mobile machine.

Jo's outfit has been... re-designed. Her jacket now has black, bullet-proof padding on it in a pattern that almost resembles scales. The red shows through the tiny gaps, making it look like blood is running through black stones. On her gloves, upon her request, are spikes, placed on the knuckles so she can deal more damage with a punch than she normally could. Her chaps have black metal plating, but the red still shows. Meg convinced her to put some pants on, so Jo now wears thin, skin-tight black pants made of flexible material. Her boots are the same, though, and so is her scarf.

Slowly, Jo walks up to Meg. She checks the straps of the vest, tightening them in some places. She's not meeting Meg's eyes. She's concentrating on her hands, trying to keep them from shaking. Meg can see that she's nervous.

"Jo, are you okay?"

"Yeah, Meg." Her hands shake. Only once, but violently. Jo closes her eyes, regaining her composure. "I'm fine." She checks the straps for the fifth time before meeting Meg's eyes. Jo's eyes are filled with concern, fear, and something else. A kind of warmth. "You're good to go."

"Jo, is something wrong?"

Jo looked at Meg's face, staring with a fierce intensity. "Meg, be careful out there, okay? I'm not going to be there to help you if you're caught. Be careful, please. Try to stay safe. Try not to get hurt, just..." she closed her eyes now, touching her forehead against Meg's. Then they left, going to the plane Sei had set up for the battle. Jo was to follow using D'jango, and they would secure the above-water levels of the base before heading underwater.

Jo looked at Meg and kissed her.

It was swift, quick, but Jo made sure it was clear that it wasn't just friendly. Jo then smiled a tired smile before running off into D'jango, and Meg could barely process the fact that it happened. When she did, she promised herself that she would stay safe and come back. For Jo.

If she would do the same.

* * *

><p>Jo saw the enemies start approaching them as they neared the base, and she shot. The cybots that had been sent to attack spiraled down, but more came. These ones were stronger. They shot a series of missals at her, all of which she shot down. Meg. She had to protect Meg.<p>

She grabbed one cybot, throwing it towards another. The third one flew up and she stabbed the pilot through the window, letting the robot fall into the ocean. She looked towards the plane. They were safe. She followed them, easily catching up.

They landed on the base, D'jango instantly taking out all of their turrets. Jo smirked. This was getting good. She watched as the rest of the group got out of the plane, Amy already in her machine. Amy shot at the foot soldiers using the implanted machine guns, hacking the turrets Jo hadn't gotten so they would fire as well. Sei was going through them with a shotgun, and Leo was using his own machine guns, smirking the whole time. Takane rode through, swinging her sword in a kind of sadistic joy. Meg used her rifle pretty well, and it looked like she would be safe.

Cy was walking through the soldiers, throwing them against eachother, crushing their heads or kicking them so hard that their bodies exploded. There seemed to be an electric current around her, and at one point she stuck her hand through a guys chest, violently ripping it out when done. As a group made the mistake of making a line in front of her, her palm opened up, sending a large blast of energy that wiped them all out.

Pretty soon, they secured the above-water section of the base, but now they were preparing to go under. Jo jumped out of D'jango, walking over to the rest of them. Takane rode up, jumping off her bike, smiling. The others were grinning as they walked up. Amy was the first to talk.

"That was amazing!" she yelled, still caught in the heat of battle.

"Remember, Amy, this isn't a game," said Jo. "You can be hurt in battle. Be careful, alright?"

Amy became serious, nodding. "Okay, Jo."

Jo looked at Meg, searching for any sign of injury. Upon finding none, she visibly relaxed. "So far so good," she murmured.

Leo walked up behind Sei, who started speaking.

"Okay, here's the plan. Me, Leo, and Meg will go down on foot, shooting the foot soldiers we find. Takane will ride down slicing everything in her path unless it's one of us. Amy, you'll stay a little farther back so you can take down remaining soldiers and hack into their security system. Cy and Jo, you two will run down ahead of all of us, down to where everything is controlled- the bottom floor." She looked at all of them. "Got it?"

Everyone nodded, and Cy and Jo got prepared, Jo taking out her guns and Cy taking the remaining gauze off her hands. They got in running position as the door opened, and then they were going, running down the hallways and slaughtering the people that tried to attack them.

"That's our cue," yelled Sei, running in with Leo. "Come on, Meg!"

Meg followed, shooting every enemy in sight and alive. They all attacked as they slowly made their way down the hallway. According to Cy, the hallway went down like a ramp in circles, with rooms in the center. Amy was already hacking into the security system, so Cy and Jo could probably get into the last room. The only thing they didn't know was what would _be_ in the last room.

Meg shot down more enemies, looking down the hallway. They had a long way to go.

* * *

><p>At this rate, they were going to get to the bottom faster than she thought.<p>

"Amy, have you got that door open?" called Jo into her glove, waiting for a confirmation.

"Yeah, Jo. It's coming up on your right," replied the girl.

"Okay tha-" she saw a figure up ahead. "Who the fuck is that?"

"I think I know," said Cy, looking up and glaring at the figure. "Stop."

The figure in front of them looked like Cy, but less injured and with long, black hair. She had not tubes, but she instantly recognized Cy.

"Hello, C-1," they said, grinning. Cy spat at them.

"That's _Cy_, C-2." She spun her knife in the air, looking at the other cyborg. "You can't be seriously planning to fight me."

"Oh, but I am. You're not passing this door, whether it's open or not."

"No matter how you dress it up," an electric current went through Cy's body, the fake skin disintegrating and revealing the metal underneath. "The original always wins." She looked at Jo. "Jo, you go on ahead. I can take her."

"Understood," said Jo, slipping past C-2 and into the room.

Cy looked at C-2, and grinned. "The fun begins."

* * *

><p>Sei clutched her injured arm, swearing. "Leo, you alright?"<p>

"Yeah, just a little gash in my side," he says. "How about you, Meg?"

"I'm fine," she says. "Just got a banged up leg."

"Then let's continue down the hallway," commands Sei, walking deeper into the base. As they walk, they notice that something's wrong. "Hey... where are all the enemies?"

The lights flicker briefly, and they run down the hallway, Meg gritting her teeth as they do. Already, her leg is bruised and bleeding. They finally find the soldiers, but their enemies ignore them as they charge down the hallway, following an unspoken order. They're heading for the room.

The room where Jo is.

"Let's go," Sei said, looking at them. "We have to see if they're alright."

Takane immediately zips past them, going further in and carving a path through the crowd. "C'mon, guys, we ain't got all day!"

They immediately follow, hearing the sounds of fighting. They reach the edge of the crowd only to see Cy and someone that looks like Cy fighting. Of course, Cy look's outright terrifying with all the fake skin gone, but she winks at them as they watch.

C-2, though the others don't know it's name yet, has taken off chunks of metal and wire from Cy, but Cy's gotten her back. They're both weak now, but Cy has outright determination in her eyes. Cy puts her hand on the back of C-2's head, and closes her hand around her yellow brain, sending an electric current as she violently pulls it out. She then looks through the door. Her eyes widen.

"Jo, what are you doing?" she yells, frantic.

The soldiers fall to their knees, clutching their heads. Meg pushes herself towards the door, looking inside. In the room is a giant machine, no yellow brain. Just a massive machine. There's marks where Jo tried shooting it, but it didn't go through. So Jo opted for...

Ripping it apart and sending electrical currents through it.

It must take a lot, because Jo's at her limit. Her right arm is clear of fake skin, as are her legs. All of which are cracking with blue energy that looks like lighting and are stuck deep in the machine. Her right eye is in no better a state, the whole thing overtaken with the same energy. Her left eye is glowing bright red, and her crest is vibrant and burning, from the look of the smoke coming out of it. She's screaming like she's in pain, and convulsing as electricity shoots through her body and fire licks up her left arm. She pulls something out. A large handful of wires. She repeats the process with a scream of agony.

No one can stop her. Cy is weak from her fight, on mangled hands and knees. Sei is holding her side. Leo's holding his arm. Amy's in her machine, right in the center of the crowd of soldiers. Meg is frozen in fear. Fear for Jo.

Meg feels herself falling as Jo tortures herself, ripping out piece by piece of wires so she can end it. She faints, and hears Jo's last scream of agony before the machine is destroyed. But the machine has one last attack, taking Jo in all her monstrous glory and capturing in wires before shocking her, sending massive waves of electricity through her. Then her screams finally die out, and she's left limp in the dead hands of a machine.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I assure you, this will not end in tragedy. Relax. It shall, however, end soon. My first completed non-one-shot. This will be an occasion to celebrate. **


	7. Dead Again, or Halfliving?

Reborn

Chapter 7

**A/N: The last chapter! Well... besides the epilogue. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"Meg? Meg, wake up. C'mon, Meg! You <em>know <em>lazy people get fat."

"Shut up, Amy," said the red-head, groggy and annoyed. "What happened?"

"Well... mission complete!"

"Seriously?" Meg sits up, finding that they're still in the enemies former base, in their medic room. Her busted leg is in a cast, bandaged up. Sei walks up, her gun-shot wound patched up as well. Freshly bandaged.

"Good to see you woke up, Meg," says Sei. "You fainted when we got to the bottom."

Takane and Leo are across the room, coming closer. Leo's side is treated, too. Takane has several small cuts on her face and two gun-shot wounds on her sword-arm, but she's smiling. "Hey, Meg!" calls Takane, though she's not so far away. "How's it going?"

"Fine, where are Cy and Jo?"

"Cy's in that room over there, fixing herself up," Leo points to a room on the other side of the wall, where the sound of drills is coming from. "Jo is..." he points to the bed next to her.

Meg looks at Jo. She's unconscious, breathing slow and labored. The skin around her robotic eye has ripped off in some places. Her right shoulder is covered with bloodied gauze. Her left arm is badly burned, and Meg remembers seeing it on fire. On the palm of her hand are several lines that appear to be branded into her skin, from the wires she was taking out. But most shocking is that the crest looks like it was burned into her skin, even on her face. Her skin is pale, and when Meg brushes her hand against the silver-haired girl's head she can tell that she has a fever.

"What happened to her?" she asks, shocked.

"She went past her limit," someone snaps, and Cy walks in. She's repaired now, but she looks pretty sick herself. Then again, she always has. "Didn't you see her? That machine was damn near indestructible, so she put all she had into stopping it. It was controlling all the people here. They're dead. But she used up all her energy. Her body is exhausted and now she's kind of sick and in some sort of coma. She might not wake up for a while. Her robotic parts are alright, though, and she's alive, for now. So be grateful."

With that, Cy walked out and everyone looked at Jo. Meg covered her face with her hands as she sat next to Jo's bed. Amy walked over, gently patting Jo's head before stepping back as the rest of them left the room. Before she left, she turned to Meg.

"We'll be leaving soon. We'll have to move Jo onto the pain with the bed, so Leo will be taking D'jango. They'll be back in a few minutes."

"Amy," she said, calling the small girl back. "Why did Cy sound so mad?"

Amy looks at Meg before looking out the door, where Cy had angrily stormed out. "After those weeks, she became like a teacher to Jo, remember? Did you hear her yell at Jo when she was destroying the machine? She didn't want Jo to do that. And by the way, I think she respects Jo for blowing up RAPT. It freed her, after all."

"Woah... she's a lot nicer than I thought."

"Well, looks like they're coming to move Jo," remarked Amy, looking to see Leo and Cy walk in. Both helped push Jo, along with the bed, out the door and up onto the top of the base. As she was put onto the plane, Meg watched with sad eyes.

"Meg?"

"Yeah, Amy?"

"Is Jo going to be okay?"

"I... don't know, Amy."

They looked at Jo as Cy walked past them, sitting in a chair before taking out a bottle of some sort alcohol and drinking all of it quickly. The women closed her eyes, settling into alcohol-induced slumber. Meg walked to a different seat and sat in it before she realized how much her leg hurt. She remembered now. She'd broken it.

Amy looked almost guilty, probably because she herself hadn't gotten hurt. She sat down next to Meg, casting glances at Jo's bed. Meg couldn't bear to look at Jo now, though, because even though she was asleep Jo looked like she was in pain.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up. Sei stood awkwardly next to her. "You know, Meg... Jo always wakes up early." Sei looks away, towards Jo. Emotions were never her strong point.

For some reason, it's the most comforting thing Meg's heard all day.

* * *

><p>The trailer just seems wrong without Jo on the roof, or polishing her guns, or watching horror movies. There's a disturbingly large amount of hot sauce that would've been used up if Jo was awake. But Jo's just in one of the extra rooms, healing. Her jacket is hung up in the corner, along with her scarf. Now that she's absorbed what's happened, she understands why they had to take off Jo's fake body parts. Cy has to make new ones, now, something she'll do when she regains her energy. Out of all of them, Jo was hurt the most, but Cy comes right after. Not to mention that without a constant supply of the medicine she gets through the tubes, she can barely move on her own.<p>

But still, it's hard to see Jo when she's missing body parts. The robotic limbs were melted by the heat of her own power and the machine. Meanwhile, Jo's body is burned from the machine as well or her own crest. Her eye, as well, has to be replaced, so there are bandages covering that side of her face. She'll have much more than one scar after this is over.

Still, Jo has a fever. They got back in the trailer a week ago, and Jo's still sick. Sure, it's gone down a little, but it's still bad. She's still asleep.

Amy walks in at that moment, where Jo and Meg are. She pats Jo's head, saying "She'll be okay, Meg, she's just sleeping." Of course, that's because as a kid, Amy's an optimist. "I just wish she would wake up, though." She wipes a few stray tears from her eyes before smiling and walking out, leaving Meg alone again. She looks back at Jo.

Her eye is open.

It's just a sliver of red, but Meg sees it. Jo's mouth moves, trying to say something. When she does, all Meg can hear is a hoarse breath, ragged from the smoke Jo had breathed in and twisted from the pain she was feeling.

"Sei, Amy!" she yells. "Jo's eyes are opening!"

"M..." Jo's voice is strangled, distorted with pain and sickness. "Whe..."

"We're in the trailer, Jo." Meg kisses the injured girl's forehead, looking at the doorway as Sei and Amy arrive, shocked to see Jo move her head slightly towards them. Jo's eye opens a little more, and Meg can see how confused she is. Suddenly, Jo's eyes snap wide open.

"Where are my legs, my arm?" she whisper-yells. Her left hand flies up to her throat as she grits her teeth.

"Easy, Jo," says Sei. "You're sick."

"And I'm missing my fu-argh!" she grips her throat tighter. "My legs and arm..."

"They melted, became disfigured. Cy's working on some new ones now. It's alright."

Jo points to her eye, having learned that talking hurts.

"It couldn't stand the energy and... exploded on your face."

Jo looks at her stomach, which is exposed. There are marks where the machine got her, the wires burning into her flesh. She grimaces but nods, seeming to remember that. She looks over at Meg, eye narrowing at seeing the cast on her leg. She then looks to Amy.

"Y-you okay, kid?" she asks.

"Yeah, Jo. I'm fine."

"Good. You're young, you shouldn't have to be hurt yet."

"Yet?"

Jo grins, but it's not the kind of smile she shows Meg. Because that smile was made for Meg, and no one else. She doesn't say anything else because of the pain in her throat. She falls back onto the pillow, as if those few actions took everything out of her. Sei and Amy leave.

Meg looks at Jo, who's still awake. Jo smiles _that_ smile again, but it looks sad now, as she's covered in bandages and missing body parts. Before Meg realizes it, she's crying. Jo moves her burned arm to put her hand on the red-head's shoulder, comforting her. She makes no noise, but there's pain in her one visible eye. Even the smallest movement hurts her.

Even so, Jo pulls her towards her, kissing her. It's much longer than the last time she did it, and when Jo's done she moves Meg's hair out of her face. "Don't cry," she says in the clearest voice she can manage. "I love you, Meg."

Meg just kisses her again. Jo will be fine, she realizes.

After all, she always is.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Though that _could _be a fitting ending, imma make an epilogue, so yeah. Thanks to all my reviewers. Just so you know, when I'm done with my epilogue I'm gonna make a different, AU story. By the way, always keep an eye out for my OC's. Normally, they're easy to find, but in some it's hard. For example, in the story I'm going to make. GO BAKUTEN!**


	8. Epilogue

Reborn

Epilogue

"Jo, what are you doing out here?" asks Meg, pushing aside tree branches as she makes her way to the clearing.

Jo is sitting down, mechanical legs hanging off the edge of a cliff. She's looking off into the sun as it sinks into the ocean. She's holding her head up with her hands, absently tracing the scars around her eye. The scars she got five years ago.

"Do you remember Cy?" asks the silver-haired girl.

"Yeah," Meg nods, sitting down to the left of her lover.

"Good." Jo looks at her. "It's a pity when the dead is forgotten."

"It's sad that she ended up dying a few months after the fight," comments Meg, head resting on Jo's shoulder.

"Yeah... it is, huh? Sometimes I forget she's dead."

As it gets colder, Jo puts her bullet-proof jacket around Meg's shoulders. It's the same as the one she used when she went to fight the rest of RAPT all those years ago, but long, like Cy's. Under it is a black tank-top and black pants, signature red chaps included. But Jo refuses to hide the metal of her robotic parts because of Cy.

They sit in a comfortable silence, Jo starting to polish her guns. Those, like her, remain unchanged. Meg carefully traces the scars from where her markings burned into her, occasionally looking at the wire-shaped burns on her stomach. She would have those scars for the rest of her life, but it was fine. Jo already saw them as marks to be proud of, because of how and why she'd gotten them.

Meg remembers the two of them in this position, before Jo almost died in the explosion of RAPT headquarters. Jo seemed... a lot younger, back then. In the weeks after the two girls had re-joined the group, Jo went through a lot. Being saved by Cy, discovering that she had lost her legs and arm, destroying the machine.

Jo remembered Cy, and her laid-back attitude. What would she do if she had survived? Join the group? No, she was too sick. They still didn't know why she was sick, just that her medicine was the only thing that kept her alive. She'd wanted to die. She'd gone over to the trailer and said she was going to stop taking the medicine, and said goodbye. She'd looked miserable in her last days. She was thin, not even drinking anything. No beer, no wine, nothing.

_"Jo, don't do anything stupid," said the cyborg, smirking. The small grin lacked it's usual life, it's usual smart-ass attitude. "I won't be able to fix you after this." _

Had it been anyone else, Jo would've called them weak. But Cy wasn't supposed to be alive in the first place. RAPT had made her cheat death in the worst way. There had been a photo of Cy from before she'd been changed. She'd had brown eyes, a shit-eating grin and tanned skin. Like them, she was a mercenary.

Jo pulled Meg closer to her, as if trying to keep her safe from the world. Cy was an example of what man would do to get what they want. They would take people from wherever they were and manipulate them to their will.

"RAPT was made of horrible, horrible men," says Jo. "Do you know why I wanted to blow them up all those years ago now?"

"I kind of get it," replies Meg. "But I just wish I could have gone."

"No you don't," corrects Jo. "You wish I didn't go."

"Same thing in my book," comments the red-head, smiling. She kisses Jo, who grins. It's that smile again. That gentle smirk.

"Hey lovebirds," says a voice, as Amy ruins the moment. "We have a job. Get going!"

Jo stands, Meg returning her jacket. The blue-eyed girl glares at Amy, and Jo chuckles lightly, though it's barely noticeable. She walks past the two girls, ruffling Amy's hair on the way, just to annoy her. That's her payback for ruining the moment.

Jo sees the trailer, standing in the middle of nowhere. Just like old times.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And now, I would like to apologize for the short epilogue. And here's some things you don't know about the story:**

**My first idea for this would be for Jo to have been given the same sickness that Cy had for some reason. Of course, Cy's sickness was different back then and I made a lot of changes. **

**Cy was born from a random-ass thought I had one day. It was a vision, more like, an image that I couldn't get out of my head. It was of a wounded cyborg, sitting on a metal table with wires and tubes sticking out of their back. At the time, I had been planning to make a Burst Angel fanfic but had NO FUCKING IDEA what to put. So I put two and two together and made this. I really fucking loved writing this story and have TWO ideas for TWO more Bakuten fanfics. So stay tuned! **

**THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ THIS! **

**-HolyRiot11**


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